Research | Current

My interests are in the use of molecular approaches to understanding the evolution of chemical sensing. Animals possess a large family of odorant receptors that they use to detect a multitude of odours. By understanding the mechanisms and evolution of this biological chemical sensing system, we aim to develop solutions for the food, insect pest control and biosensing industries. We are also interested in using molecular techniques to address issues of the ecology and evolution of New Zealand’s unique biota.

Applications to conduct Honours, Masters and PhDs in the group are welcome.

Insect chemosensory reception

Insects have an incredibly sensitive and, for some compounds, a highly selective sense of smell. The recent sequencing of many insect genomes has revealed large families of chemosensory receptors, while biochemical and functional assays in surrogate cell systems have revealed that, distinct from other animal groups, insect chemosensory receptors function as ion channels.

We are developing technologies to enable the exploitation of these receptors in a biosensing device or cybernose. Further application of our knowledge of insect chemosensory receptors involves the development of new insect control and behaviour-modifying compounds through screening candidates in cell assays against recombinant protein targets.

Molecular evolution

We are interested in the molecular bases of biological innovation and speciation, predominantly using insects as models. Of particular focus is the conundrum of how mating systems diverge, when this requires both male and female parts of the mating system to co-evolve. For this question we use a group of New Zealand endemic leafroller moths. We also contribute to developing molecular methods for estimating and comparing levels of biodiversity in different ecosystems - see http://www.genomicobservatory.cs.auckland.ac.nz/.

Postgraduate supervision

Applications to conduct Honours, Masters and PhDs within the lab are welcome.